SHAHID ABDUL-KARIM: Stuck inside, use snow day to reconnect with loved ones

Most of us know what it's like to work two or three jobs sometimes to make ends meet, especially in today's challenging economic times.

It has somewhat become a novelty to have a day off to reflect and spend time with family.

But today is one of those days.

Most of us are stuck in our homes and, as scary as it may sound, we are compelled to look at each other and deal with one another face-to-face.

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Whether we see today's events as a negative or positive, Mother Nature has a way of presenting a golden opportunity for us to rekindle our marriages, where husbands and wives haven't express to one another their love in years, where we get this time to really pray together as a family unit, or even bring closure to old wounds that some of us constantly re-open.

We shouldn't say, "Damn, I'm being punished; being a prisoner in my home all day with them," or "I needed to do this today or needed to do that," but rather look at it as a perfect portrait to capture family moments that we wouldn't normally have because of the demands of our schedules.

What a wonderful opportunity for parents to turn off the TVs and computers, to put away cell phones and video games, and use this day in the interest of building stronger bonds; by reading a book to our children, re-establishing broken relationships with our sons and daughters, and mending fences with our neighbors.

Most time our children grow up too fast and sometimes we let outside spirits define who they are instead of engaging them in personal dialogue about teenage pregnancy, sexual relationships, the use of drugs and gun violence. Maybe we don't engage them because we are afraid they may see the real us. But let's not forget they are watching and listening to us and how we behave all the time.

Possibly, some of the bad habits we see in them are a reflection of us and how we treat ourselves and others.

It would be hard to tell Mr. and Ms. Jones about their parenting skills, their relationship or their shortcomings before we check our own. Charity does start at home and then spreads abroad.

I was fortunate to attend a lecture by the now late Imam Warrith Deen Mohammed on family life and he said, "We need parents who will be responsible for giving our children what they need in order to establish themselves as adults in the world."

Improvement has come about in the whole of society to raise the level of man's life because of good strong families. So we need to see the role of family in advancing human society as a social role and we need to understand that this first unit is still the basis of society," he said.

"You will find weak families when you see husbands and wives who are together for reasons other than to establish their children in the world and to see their life through their children advanced and making a contribution to the whole of society. When that is lost, then you can expect that those people are not very strong in their society."

I'm glad Gov. Dannel Malloy shut the state down and mandated everyone stay off the roads, maybe today will be a good start for us to get back to what it truly means to respect family life and helping our fellow man.

Well, I'm getting ready to help my wife in the kitchen with the gumbo and spend time with her and my family, because if I don't, I would be one the biggest hypocrites in writing this column.